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November 5, 2008    DOL Home > Find It! By Topic > Retirement > Compliance Assistance   

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Retirement Plans, Benefits & Savings

Compliance Assistance

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) provides many forms of compliance assistance, including voluntary compliance programs, advisory opinions, and publications. They are compiled on the agency's Compliance Assistance Web page. This compilation includes information specifically developed to assist and inform employers and employee benefit plan practitioners in understanding and complying with the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) as they apply to the administration of retirement plans. Much of the material is specific and technical in nature. It is not intended to be the only source of information necessary for employer sponsored employee benefits plans to be in compliance.

Employers and plan practitioners may also benefit by reviewing some of the more general materials available to the public at the Consumer Information on Pension Plans page.

DOL Web Pages on This Topic

elaws Small Business Retirement Savings Program/Employer-Employee Advisor
Provides information about retirement savings options for small business employers and determines which program may be appropriate for an employer.

Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance (DFVC)
Provides a description of the program that reduces the monetary penalties for employee benefit plan administrators with respect to plan filings to encourage voluntary compliance.

Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP)
The voluntary compliance program is designed to encourage self-correction of certain prohibited transaction violations of ERISA to protect the financial security of retirement plans. This fact sheet describes the process for making an application, the specific transactions covered, acceptable methods for correcting violations, and examples of potential violations and corrective actions.

ERISA Filing Acceptance System (EFAST)
The EFAST system streamlines filing and processing of the annual return/report forms through the use of computer scannable forms and electronic filing technologies. This Web site provides assistance on using this system.

401(k) Plan Fees Disclosure Tool (PDF)
Provides employers with a way to get uniform information on fees from prospective plan service providers to make apples to apples comparisons of prospective plan service providers.




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